Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 1, 2023

What cinematic (or television) version of this venerable tale is your favorite Robin Hood? As an archival featurette hosted by Pierce Brosnan included in this set as a supplement mentions in passing, there's no dearth of options in that regard, which may make the fact that many folks might almost automatically default to Errol Flynn and 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood all the more remarkable. But as some of the other supplements in this set also address, by the early nineties there were suddenly all sorts of potential Robin Hood projects being bandied about, with the result being that co-writers and co-producers Pen Densham and John Watson found themselves in something of a race to get their adaptation off the ground first. There was evidently at least some chaos and confusion during the pre-production period of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, a tendency that may have progressed into the shoot itself, but despite any perceived deficits, those opting for Flynn and The Adventures of Robin Hood as an overall favorite might then be prone to opting for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as their "runner up" second place finisher, which might make this release from Arrow alluring. However, that may then bring up a whole new question, namely which of several versions Arrow is offering would be their most wanted: not only are there 1080 and 4K UHD formats available, there are a glut of different packaging options, including a SteelBook.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a huge audience pleaser back in its day, even if it unsurprisingly didn't always impress those curmudgeonly critic types. It's easy to see why the film resonated so strongly with so many, as it's a good, old fashioned adventure yarn with a couple of quasi-contemporary twists, including one that Pen Densham mentions repeatedly he's especially proud of, combining a Christian and Muslim character as a focal duo. That pair would of course be hero Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) and what might be termed a main sidekick, Azeem Edin Bashir Al-Bakir (Morgan Freeman), who suffice it to say isn't exactly part of an admittedly at times pretty widely variant Robin Hood canon. There is in fact a somewhat more developed tendency toward a contextual backstory and what boils down to some first act prelude material, which gives Robin a patrician background that has ended up with him in prison in Jerusalem after some adventures in a Crusade. His escape introduces both a connection to Maid (and/or Lady) Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), as well as Azeem himself.

Once Robin and Azeem manage to get back to Merrie (?) Olde England, the more "traditional" aspects of the Robin Hood tale start populating the plot proceedings, but the film has an undeniably modern style that may in fact have led to some of that aforementioned critical umbrage. As is kind of comically recounted by editor Peter Boyle in an interview included as a supplement, he at least became aware that part of the perceived modern feeling might come courtesy of Alan Rickman's scene stealing performance as this version's Sherriff of Nottingham, who may not be overly skilled with a sword, but who can sling the snark with the best of them.

The other "modern" aspect is probably not quite as felicitous, with Kevin Costner coming off as a kind of "surfer dude" Robin at times. Still, the film has a lot of heart and a good deal of humor, and director Kevin Reynolds stages several action sequences with appropriate aplomb.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: For purposes of this review, Arrow provided the 1080 disc included in their 4K UHD SteelBook release. The only insert booklet I have access to is the one from Arrow's standard packaging of the 4K UHD release, and so some of the verbiage from the insert booklet reprinted below is not germane to this 1080 presentation.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo 2.0 and 5.1 sound. The film is presented in both the original and extended cut versions.

The original 35mm negative and 35mm intermediary elements were scanned in 4K resolution at Illuminate Labs, Hollywood. The film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London.

The stereo and 5.1 mixes were sourced from the original sound mix masters.

All original materials supplied for this restoration were made available by Revolution via Park Circus.

Ken Brown wasn't overly enthusiastic in his Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Blu-ray review assessment of the video quality of Warner Brothers' now relatively ancient 1080 release of the film for Region A, and while I haven't revisited that release probably since it was released, I'd probably echo many of Ken's comments. This new Arrow version significantly improves things in terms of both detail and palette, but it can't quite overcome some decidedly wide variances in grain resolution and clarity. Some of these are no doubt "baked in" anomalies, and in that regard, it's salient to note that at least some of the chunkiest grain tends to be during opticals like dissolves or in some of the most dimly lit material. There are some kind of curious spikes in grain "chunkiness" at times that seem to have little do with lighting and certainly nothing to do with opticals, almost as if perhaps two different stocks were utilized. That intermittent issue aside, this version definitely ups detail levels from the Region A release, something that's evident from the get go with the nicely precise rendering of the woven fabric behind the credits. Fine detail tends to be excellent at least in the more fulsomely lit sequences, and a lot of the outdoor material in particular pops extremely well in terms of both palette and general detail levels. As Ken noted in his review, there can still be ebbs and flows to clarity.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 audio options. The surround track not only significantly opens up the soundstage for both Michael Kamen's nice score and the glut of outdoor and/or crowd scenes, it also provides a much more robust midrange and low end that helps to energize the entire listening experience. There are some fun if arguably slightly daffy sound effects that can ripple through the surround channels as in the "POV" arrow shots, but there's also some nicely layered and relatively subtle sound design in the forest scenes in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Due to the plethora of versions Arrow has released, I got a kind of "combo platter" of review product to provide reviews of both the 1080 and 4K UHD releases. The 1080 disc I received was part of Arrow's 4K UHD SteelBook release, while all of the non-disc swag was part of Arrow's standard packaging 4K UHD release. I'm therefore assuming that the non disc swag mentioned below of the 1080 Limited Edition matches the 4K UHD release.

• Theatrical Cut (HD; 2:23:12) and Extended Cut (HD; 2:35:02) are accessible under the Choose Version Menu.


• Audio Commentary with director Kevin Reynolds and actor Kevin Costner


• Audio Commentary with actors Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater and writers / producers Pen Densham and John Watson


• Here We Are Kings: Making Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (HD; 1:07:10) is a really excellent multi-part piece newly produced for this release that includes a ton of interesting interviews with Pen Densham, John Watson and a number of other production personnel. There's an especially nice remembrance of composer Michael Kamen included.


• Robin Hood: The Myth, The Man, The Movie (HD; 31:52) is a kind of fun 1991 television special hosted by Pierce Brosnan.


• One on One With the Cast (HD; 19:15) offers archival 1991 interviews with Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alan Rickman and Christian Slater. Individual interviews are playable, or there's a Play All option.


• Music Video (HD; 4:17) features Bryan Adams performing "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" at Slane Castle in Ireland.


• 5.1 Soundtrack Cues (HD; 50:15) is an audio supplement offering Michael Kamen's memorable score. The cues play to stills from the film.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:00)


• TV Spots (HD; 2:18)


• Image Galleries

  Publicity Stills (HD)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes (HD)

Additionally, this Limited Edition comes with some significant non disc swag. That includes a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper; a 60 page perfect bound illustrated booklet with some good essays on the film; a double sided fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork; a double sided fold out poster featuring new artwork by Jose Saccone; and six double sided postcard sized artcards. Everything comes housed in a nicely designed slipbox.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves may not be able to quite reach the entertainment heights of the classic Errol Flynn version of the tale, but it still has a lot going for it, with Freeman and Rickman especially memorable. Arrow provides a release with generally solid technical merits and some outstanding supplements, both on disc and non disc swag, though those with 4K UHD setups who may prefer both a 2160 and 1080 disc may want to opt for the SteelBook release. Recommended.